Cheese products are widely consumed among households both domestically and abroad. Many times, cheese is packaged and sold in shredded, crumbled, cubed, sliced, block or other pre-cut form for consumer convenience. These pre-cut cheese products may then be used by the consumer in a variety of food applications without the need for time-consuming shredding, cutting or other processing steps.
Many times, these pre-cut cheese products have additives or topical ingredients incorporated to improve or add flavor. For instance, spices, condiments or other food ingredients, such as chili powder, garlic, onion, paprika, dill, horseradish, peppers, and so forth, may be added to the cheese product to create specialized cheese products. In some applications, color or flavor additives may additionally be included as an enhancement. In other instances, additives or topical ingredients may be included to improve quality of shelf life of the cheese products. For example, starch, powdered cellulose, cellulose gels, rice flour or other anticaking ingredients may be added to a package of cheese shreds, cubes or crumbles to prevent agglomeration of the cheese product during processing or after packaging. In other applications, natamycin or other like substances may be added as a natural mold inhibitor to increase shelf-life.
Many of these additives or topical ingredients are in the form of a powder that is sprinkled, mixed in with, or otherwise applied to the cheese product at some point in the manufacturing or packaging process. In the past, application of powders to cheese products has sometimes been found to result in undesirable organoleptic properties, such as a pasty, chalky or dry mouthfeel. In some instances, the powders may be visible to the consumer, thus detracting from the appearance of the cheese product and sometimes even being mistaken as mold growth. The powders also may restrict the melting properties of the cheese product when used in applications where heat is applied to the cheese and/or food product. For instance, the cheese product may melt unevenly or incompletely in comparison to a cheese product without the additive or topical ingredient. Topical powders may also negatively impact the creamy mouthfeel of a cheese product upon melting.
Attempts at improving melting characteristics of cheese products have been made. For instance, reduced-fat cheese products are sometimes perceived as having inferior taste, creaminess, melting properties and other organoleptic qualities when compared to full-fat cheese products. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,770, a thin layer of liquid fat is sprayed onto the surface of the reduced-fat cheese product to help overcome these perceptions and provide a reduced fat product more akin to full-fat cheese products. However, these methods may require sophisticated manufacturing capabilities to achieve the desired application of the liquid fat and may be limited by the amount of liquid fat that may be added while still meeting a reduced-fat claim. Additionally, these methods are used to compensate for lowered fat levels in the cheese itself, and it may be undesirable to add a layer of liquid fat in many applications, such as when the cheese product to which it is applied is not a reduced-fat cheese.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,279,202, molten fat is applied to the surface of grated Parmesan cheese in an effort to protect against deterioration, such as flavor loss, dehydration, molding or hardening, of the grated cheese compositions and to prevent seepage of butterfat from the cheese. The molten fat enrobes the grated cheese particles and is allowed to congeal thereon. Other materials may be combined with the molten fat prior to application to the grated cheese particles depending upon the desired characteristics of the finished cheese product. For example, a skim milk powder or flour may be mixed with the molten fat to aid in absorbing butterfat and preventing seepage, while also enhancing cheese flavor or creaminess in the final product. However, application of molten fat to certain types of cheese products, especially relatively small shreds, cubes, or crumbles of cheddar, mozzarella, and other similar cheeses, may lead to a pasty granular cheese composition or caking and clumping within the product package, which is undesirable to the end-consumer. Moreover, for certain types of cheese having higher moisture contents, application of a molten fat or other heated additives may lead to oxidation of oils and/or oil separation in the cheese, causing the development of off-flavors during the shelf life of the cheese product.
Dairy powders are also known and used in a variety of food and beverage applications. Cheese powders specifically are also used in an assortment of food and beverage applications. They are commonly used in shelf-stable products, for example, as a seasoning for dry snacks or as a base in making cheese sauces. Dairy powders, including cheese powders, have been incorporated into cheese formulations at various stages of manufacturing to modify shelf-stability and flavoring. Often, the dairy or cheese powders are incorporated directly into the cheese formulation at a specific processing step rather than topically applied to a cheese product, such as a shred, cube or crumble. Dairy powders also have been used to reduce adherence between slices of cheese. However, even when used in this manner, many of these applications require relatively large quantities of dairy powders, such as a one to one weight ratio of dairy powder to sliced cheese, the use of other additives or ingredients, or specific processing steps after introduction of the powders, such as dehydration, to achieve the desired end-result.